Remote radio control



Fello 6, 194).v n E, F, BACON 2,189,527l

REMOTE RADIO, CONTROL Filed Aug. 2l, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. s, 1940. E. F. BACON 2,189,527

REMOTE RADIVO CONTROL Filed Aug. 21, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 `v4`la u l /fa V l 50 iz *f Ima/whom 7b tig?? g5@ C022 Feb, 6,1940. E, F BACQN l2189,527

REMOTE RADIO CONTROL l Filed Aug. 21, 193e s sheets-sheet s ,/70 ik @ff Patented Fel). 6, 1940 ,PATENT OFFICE REMOTE-immo ooNTRoL Elbridge F. Bacon, Flint, Mich., assignor to Gen'- eral Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., av corporation of Delaware Applicaties August 21, 19st, seriaiNo. 97,115 2 claims. (01.250520) This invention relates to control and indicating apparatus for'A adjustably actuating other means at' a remote point and more specifically to remote control and indicating means for controlling a 'l distant radio receiver.

With the increasing popularity and use'on automotive vehicles of radio receivers the problem of .developing a practical remotevassembly of pleasing appearance has been given attention. y It is now common practice to mount the radio chassis on the dashboard under-the'cowl and this of course necessitates the use of remote control as the set itself is so inaccessible that no one in the front seat of the oar could reach down and 15. forward to tune the-set much less anyone driving the car.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide remote control apparatus which is easily accessible tothe operator and of pleasing ap` pearance.

It is a further object of my invention to provide remote control apparatus in which several controlling means are mounted on the same shaft to reduce the number of control parts.

It is a still further object to provide clearly visible indicating means for adjustment properly'y illuminated.

With these and other objects in view my invention resides in the embodiments described in the specification and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which:

Figure l is a side elevation of a remote control assembly, parts being broken away and shown in section.

x Figure 2 is an enlarged detail section through the shaft support assembly of the upper shaft inl Figure l. l

y vFigure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3`3 of Figure 1.

g, Figure 4 is an end view of the apparatus taken on line 4 4 of'Figure l. i

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a modified form of control assembly, parts being broken away and shown in section.

- Figure 6` is a sectional View taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 5. f

Remote control panels for automotive radio in order to be easily accessible and visibleto the l panel. l

The casing of the assembly is a comparatively thin rectangular box 2 formed of pressed metal, one side'thereof being open and flanged outward- `5` ly as at 4. lA pair of parallel shafts 6 and 8 extend through aligned openings in the front and, rear walls of thecasing, both of these shafts being rotatable for control purposes. Abushing l0 i has an 'l end portion tting within an opening 10 I2 in the rear face ofthe casing, the endbein'g crimped outwardly around the edge vto secure thev bushing in place. Within the bushing is carried a stationary end terminal I4of a Bowden wire control, said terminalbeing secured therein 15 bya setscrew i6. To the terminal is connected one endfof a exible outer casing I8 which con-` l timetoallow the attachment of the control ceals the inner control shaft 20 which isconconnector 22. y 2o The bushing l0 extends past the inner end'of theterminal I4 andtlien is of smaller'internal diameter tosnugly t the shaft. A collar 24 is secured to shaft 6` adjacent theinner face of the bushing to holdv the bushing portionof smaller 25 diameter between v'the terminal end i4 and the collar 24=to prevent end play in thejsh'aft.A

Spaced forwardly and secured Ato the shaft 6 is a spurv gear 26. This gear meshes with a gear 28 mounted on a cylindrical sleevel)` which in 30 turn is rotatably secured tothe rearface of the casing by stud 32 and nut 34. Also secured vto the sleeve 30 in spaced relation to the gear-28 is a second gear 36 constructed of celor'on for quietness in operation which meshes with a large gear 35 38 rigidly secured tothe drum dial 40, theassenbly of the dial and gear being rotatably mounted on the rear face ofthe casing in 'any desired manner. y y The two gears 28 and36 are mounted on the 40 nected to a desired part of the radio setv by the cylindrical sleeve, vthe rst rigid therewith and the second' 'so that it may, under certain condi'- tions, rotate' with` respect thereto. Av spring vWasher v42 at. the top ltakes up'end 4play yand vthelower washer 42 keeps the gear 36in contact with 45y a shoulder on the` sleeve. 'Thisponstruc'tion is provided Aso that the turning of the shaft 6 too far' will not cause `a stripping of the gears but the. samemay slide and provide for some'feX-H cess travel. y The forward end of the shaft 6 extends through the casing, through the instrument panel when mounted "('shown in dotted lines), and through the decorated cover plate -f llla1'1dhas secured to .itsv outer'end an operating knob 55 4S by set screw 48. The section of the shaft extending through the frame is of smaller diameter than the remainder of the shaft and it has a plurality of apparatus mounted adjacent thereto which will now be described in detail and is best shown in Figure 2.

Surrounding the reduced portion of the shaft are two telescoping sleeves 58 and 52 which act as a bearing for the shaft, the latter being rotatable within the inner stationary sleeve. The inner sleeve is longer than the outer and at the end within the casing both sleeves are flanged outwardly and carry between the twojspaced flanged ends a washer 5G. Adjacent the flanged end of the outer sleeve 52 is carried a gear member 56 which is rotatable with this sleeve. 'I'his sleeve and shaft assembly extends through the central bore of an irregularly shaped bushing 58, the larger outside diameter of which is rigidly secured to the casing. rIhe opposite end of the bushing is threaded exteriorly as shown at G8 and has a shoulder 52 adjacent the middle portion. A section of the instrument panel lits against the shoulder, the bushing extending through an opening in the panel. The cover plate 44 also has an opening through which this portion of the bushing extends and the instrument panel and cover plate are clamped to the assembly by a nut 55 which presses them against the shoulder 62 and is threaded on the section 60.

Mounted on the sleeve 52 between the gear 55 and the bushing 58 is a dished spring washer 66 adapted to keep the gear 58 in contact with the flange on sleeve 52 so that itwill rotate therewith and` to take up all end play. On the outer end of the sleeve 52 is mounted a leverarm 68 which is just behind the knob 46. With this construction` it is evident that the knob malf be used to turn the shaft 6 for turning the indicating dial and tuning the set and that the lever 68 may also be turned independently to control tone control means o n the casing and due to the fact that the sleeve 5|) is stationary the rotation of either will not disturb the other. The operation of the tone control means will now be set lforth in detail and is best shown in Figure 4.

The washer 54 is securely fastened to the inner stationary sleeve and has an arm 'I0 extending therefrom as best shown in Figure 4. This arm is secured to a lug 'l2 on the casing which anchors the sleeve against rotation. The gear 56meshes with gear 14, carried by shaft 16, carried by apertured lug '|8on the outer casing face, said shafty lying parallel to shaft G and extending vback tooperate a tone control means 80 on the rear face of the casing.

The forward face of the casing 2 has a large opening therethrough and the cover plate has an inwardly bent portion extending through this opening of roughly truncated conical form as shown at 32 which approaches the dial 48 and provides a visible window through which to View the indicating dial.

Secured to the face of the casing 2 at the approximate center thereof is a suitable light housing 84 by soldering or welding, having a socket 86 and lamp 88 therein. The lamp projects through an opening in the casing and the central portion of the dial to illuminate the numerals on the cylindrical edge from within. The casing 2 adjacent the opening has a pair of projecting lugs 9U under which a U-shaped spring member 92 engages, the other portions of the spring engaging the dial support to maintain the dial in its proper position.

The other control shaft 8 is connected to the same type of remote Bowden wire control in the same manner and therefore like reference characters have been applied to these parts and no further explanation will be made.

On the shaft 8 toward the right as shown in Figure 1 is a U-shaped bracket 94 held to the shaft by a set screw 96, one arm of the bracket extending out to engage and operate an olf and on switch 98 secured to the end face of the casing.

The forward end of shaft 8 projects through the bushing |08, similar to bushing 58, which is carried by the casing 2 and the cover plate and instrument panel are clamped to the bushing |60 as in the previous case by a nut |02. A collar |84 is applied to the inner portion of the shaft adjacent the bushing and a spring washer |06 is located between the collar and bushing to eliminate end play in the shaft. A similar knob 46 is applied to the projecting shaft end and clamps to the shaft a cover member for the nut |02. Suitable wires such as |88 are provided for connecting the switch and tone control to the chassis proper. A cover is positioned over the open side of the casing and the edges are crimped over the flanged edge 4 to secure the whole together.

It is therefore evident that with the device as shown and described the upper knob in Figure l controls the tuning of the set, the associated lever controls the tone control and the lower knob controls both the olf and on switch and the volume control through dilferent periods of its rotation.

A modified form of my invention is illustrated in Figures and 6 and in this structure a casing H2 is provided of substantially the same shape as before carrying a flange H4 around the upper edge. Two parallel shafts |56 and ||8 extend through the casing from front to rear and have connected to their rear extremities Bowden wire control means |28 of the same type as previously described for connection to the radio chassis, that from shaft H5 operating the tuning mechanism and that from H8 operating the volume control.

Keyed to the shaft H6 slightly to the rear of the center by set screw |22 is a spur gear |24 which meshes with an intermediate gear |26 which is carried by stud |28, the latter being secured to the casing by a nut |30. A spring washer |32 is provided on the stud between the head thereof and the gear |25 to prevent end play on the stud.

The casing l l2 carries a bushing |34 therein through which the forward end of shaft ||6 projects and there is provided a collar |38 on the shaft adjacent the bushing and a spring washer |38 between the two around the shaft to prevent end play. As before the forward portion of the bushing is externally threaded as at |48 and a nut |4| applied thereto clamps the instrument panel and decorative cover plate |42 between the nut and the main body of the bushing. Secured on the projecting end of the shaft ||6 is a control knob |44 by set screw |46.

The central surface of one of the main faces of the casing |52 is flanged as at |48 to provide a bearing surface for a large gear |50 which meshes with intermediate gear |26 and which is rigidly secured to dial means |52. rlhe central part of the flanged portion is apertured and has two projecting portions |54 extending into the aperture and engaging the arms of a U-spring |56 which has an inwardly 'pressed portion |64, the inward portion of which is open andlies adjacent the dial face so that the numerals may be Viewed therethrough.

` The shaft ||8 has secured thereon a U-shaped member |66 which is adapted to throw the operatingtoggle Varm |68 of theswitch |10 in either direction. The shaft and knob support for the shaft H8 is substantially the same as that of the upper knob and shaft. A cover.A |12 is applied to the open snide of the casing and is crimped over the flanged edge to secure it in place.

I claim:v p

l. In a remote control `for a radio receiving set, al casing having a pair of rotatable shafts mounted therein, flexible cables connected to the shafts The coverv plate |42 l:s foroperatingthe,control members of the radio receiving set, a rotatable dial' mounted in the casing, a train of` gears interconnecting one of the shafts and the dial, a switch mounted on the case, a member onvthe other shaft for operating the switch, a third rotatable'shaft for operating additional controly means for the set, and a rotatable sleeve'mounted on the first shaft and connected to the third shaft yfor operating the same.v y

2. In avremote control for a radio receiving set,

a casing, a'pair of rotatable shafts mounted in` the casing, flexible cables connected to and operated by the shafts for operating control members of the radio receiving set, a rotatable dial in the casing, means interconnecting one of the shafts and the dial to drive the same, a sleeve rotatably mounted ony the last-named shaft, a third control shaft rotatably `*mounted in the casing vand gearing connecting the sleeve and third shaft to 20 t operate the same. I 1

ELBRIDGE F. BACON;y 

